FAA offers registration refunds for casual drone pilots

Remember when you had to register your drone, regardless of whether it was hulking thousand-dollar pro model, or some cheap toy off Amazon? Then, remember when the FAA then realised it violated its own rules? Well, that decision in the US Court of Appeals means that the ever-growing drone pilots of America can now apply for a refund if they had previously registered their flying 'bot.

There are rules, however: To qualify for the refund, owners need to reiterate that their drone is used only for recreation and in accordance with community safety guidelines — of course. If you're ticking those boxes, you can find the rest of the application form here, so send that off and start imagining what you're going to do with that sweet fiver.

While the US still figures out how to keep a check on drones, the European Commission recently unveiled a blueprint of standards that will unify laws across the EU, starting 2019. No-one appears to have found the perfect balance of drone monitoring and civilian freedom just yet.